Wild Ride
by VoicesOffCamera
Summary: The Greasers all love going to the rodeo. Soda lives for an adrenaline rush. And when he starts riding saddle bronc in the rodeo one summer he certainly gets it. [Pre-Book One Shot]


**Author's Note: Hey guys, just a quick little random one shot that I wrote on a whim. Be forewarned, I don't know much about the rodeo, I did some research but please forgive me if all the facts or terminology aren't right. This also may not be quite as refined as some of my other stories… this one was mostly just for fun. I'm also assuming that back in the 60s safety measures were a bit more lax than they are today. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think!**

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"Ponyboy, where is that brother of yours?" Pony's mother demanded.

It was early on a Saturday morning and Ponyboy Curtis was sitting at the kitchen table eating his breakfast as his mother worked on getting breakfast for his brothers on the table as well.

Pony looked up from his breakfast. "Which one?" he asked.

"Sodapop," she said. "He needs to be sure to eat something before he goes."

"He's comin'." Pony turned to see his dad making his way into the kitchen. "I just dragged him out of bed, he's in the bathroom now."

"You know, I don't think I would have minded if he had overslept today," Mrs. Curtis said with a light smile. "I don't know why you let him ride in that rodeo. He's only fifteen after all."

"Hey now, don't blame it all on me," Mr. Curtis said with the wild grin that he had passed on to Soda. "You agreed to this as much as I did at the beginning of the summer."

"Yes, but I figured once he got thrown off that horse once he'd be done with it," Mrs. Curtis said, rolling her eyes at her husband.

"Have you met that boy before?" Mr. Curtis laughed. He sat down at the table and affectionately ruffled Pony's hair. "You comin' too, Ponyboy?"

"Yep!" Pony said brightly. He loved going to the rodeo with his dad and watching Soda ride.

"What about Darry?" Mrs. Curtis asked. "I feel better when he goes with you boys too." She kept her voice light, but Pony knew that she really did worry when Soda rode in the rodeo, especially since he had started riding in the saddle bronc competition. She had gone to one rodeo with them at the beginning of the summer and had been so horrified when Soda was thrown from the bucking bronc that even though he had gotten right back up she hadn't returned since.

"I'm sure he'll come along," Mr. Curtis said. He got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen and as he passed through the doorway Soda ducked in at a sprint, sliding on the tile floor in his socks. "Easy there!" Mr. Curtis laughed as he had to dodge out of Soda's way before disappearing down the hall to look for Darry.

"Mornin'!" Soda said brightly.

"Sit down and eat your breakfast," Mrs. Curtis said, indicating the plate at the table. "It's getting cold."

Pony laughed as Soda took a galloping lap around the kitchen before jumping into the chair and beginning to shovel the food into his mouth. Mrs. Curtis rolled her eyes at him but there was an obvious smile playing on her lips.

"You comin' to the rodeo too?" Soda asked Pony, his mouth full of eggs.

"Chew your food, you're going to get indigestion," Mrs. Curtis scolded.

"Yeah, of course I'm goin'," Pony answered with a grin.

Soda swallowed his mouthful. "What 'bout you, mom?" he asked smiling with a note of teenaged teasing in his voice. "You comin' too?"

"Not if you paid me," Mrs. Curtis said with a laugh.

By then their dad had returned to the kitchen with Darry in tow.

"How you feelin', little buddy?" Darry asked, clapping him on the shoulder before sitting down in front of his own breakfast.

"Good!" Soda said. "I'm gonna get a high score today, I know it!"

About twenty minutes later all four of the male Curtises were fed, dressed and ready to go.

"Sodapop Curtis, you get back here!" Mrs. Curtis called as Soda was halfway to the truck already. Soda rolled his eyes as he loped back up onto the porch. Mrs. Curtis hugged her son and gave him a kiss on top of his head. "You be careful today, you hear?"

"Yes, mom," Soda said with a grin as he headed back out to the driveway.

Mr. Curtis chuckled at the sight. "We'll be back in a few hours," he assured his wife. He leaned in and gave her a light peck on the cheek before heading out after Soda with Darry and Pony in tow.

"You stick close to your dad today, Ponyboy," Mrs. Curtis called after him.

"I will," Pony said with exasperation. Feeling annoyed that he had been singled out. It wasn't like he was a little kid or anything; he had just turned thirteen years old. He was a teenager like Soda now.

Soda and Darry climbed into the bed of the truck while Pony climbed into the cab with his dad. With a glance out the rear window to make sure Soda and Darry were settled, Mr. Curtis carefully backed out of the driveway and headed down the street. They made a stop at Steve's house to pick him up and he jumped into the bed of the truck as well. Two-Bit and Johnny usually met them at the rodeo. Dally would be there too since he rode in them as well.

As they arrived Soda was out of the truck before it even came to a complete stop. Soda was an energetic person anyway, but on rodeo days he seemed like he could hardly sit still. As the group headed for the entrance they immediately spotted Dally, Johnny and Two-Bit all hanging around smoking.

"Well look at these sorry bums!" Soda announced as they approached.

"Look who's talkin'!" Two-Bit shot back with a laugh.

They laughed and joked around for a while before splitting off. Steve went with Dally and Soda. Even though he didn't ride he usually hung out with Soda anyway. The rest of them headed for the stands. They found seats about halfway up and Pony sat between his dad and Darry while Two-Bit and Johnny sat in front of them, though they spent most of the time turn around in their seats. They only really paid attention to the rodeo when Soda or Dally were involved.

Finally it was time for the saddle bronc event. The teenagers went first and tended to have slightly more calm horses to try and ride, though there were still some pretty nasty falls. Soda had had a few himself, getting quite a few bruises and even got a pretty good cut above his eye once. The goal of the saddle bronc event was to remain on the horse for eight seconds. This seemed like a very short amount of time, but while that horse was bucking like crazy it seemed like an almost impossible task. Since all the teenagers in this particular competition were pretty much beginners they rarely made it to the eight-second mark.

"Soda's comin' up!" Darry announced.

They all turned to see Soda up on the fence getting ready to climb onto the anxious horse in the stall that was already beginning to jump. They could see Dally up on the other side of the stall helping to hold the horse steady so that Soda could climb on. Once he was settled he put his hand up while gripping the reins with his other hand. The gate to the stall flew open and the horse immediately took off, bucking like crazy. They all cheered as Soda held on for dear life, still grinning.

Finally just after the five second mark the horse managed to knock Soda off and he hit the ground and quickly rolled out of the way as the handlers ran out to contain the horse. This was always the part that made Pony most nervous, because if Soda rolled the wrong way or if the horse suddenly changed directions Soda could very easily get trampled. But as Soda jumped up unscathed, Pony let out his usual sigh of relief. Soda grinned as he held his hands up in triumph as everyone cheered. It was a very good time for a beginner.

After a few more in the teenaged bracket took their turns, none doing as well as Soda had, Soda was up again. They cheered again as Soda managed to hang on slightly longer than he had the first time before getting tossed off again, managing an almost graceful landing on his feet this time. A few more teenagers went and then it was time for Soda's last ride of this round.

As Soda was climbing onto the horse, the horse was already anxiously bucking and Soda had to have several tries just to get on it. Pony bit his lip, feeling a little nervous. These horses were supposed to be calmer than the ones that the adults used, but this horse seemed especially worked up to him. As he glanced around though it seemed like he was the only one who seemed to notice.

The gate shot open and the horse took off, bucking like crazy. Soda was doing really well at first and seemed unfazed by the horse's energy. Almost seven seconds in is when everything went wrong. The horse gave a powerful buck and Soda came out of the saddle, but instead of falling to the ground he was awkwardly tossed to one side, twisting unnaturally. That's when Pony realized that Soda's arm was still caught in the reigns as the horse continued to bunk frantically, dragging Soda along like a rag doll as there was a collective gasp from the audience.

Pony frantically looked for the handlers that were supposed to help, but before they had a chance to react Dally had jumped the fence and was already sprinting out into the ring. He reached the horse and in a split second had managed to yank Soda's arm free. Soda stumbled and then collapsed to the ground as Dally stood between him and panicking horse, shooing the horse away from him.

"Darry," came their dad's tense voice. Pony blinked and realized that both his dad and Darry were on their feet. With a glance at their dad Darry suddenly disappeared from his side. Pony could only sit there in shock, hardly able to comprehend what had just happened.

XxXxX

Darry felt his heart jump up into his throat as he watched helplessly as the horse tossed Soda around the ring. He was hit with a wave of relief as Dally ran out and managed to get Soda free, but then instead of moving to safety he lay limp on the ground. Darry was frozen in place before he heard his dad's voice. He looked over at him and instantly knew what to do. He was sprinting down the steps and out of the stands, jumping the fence effortlessly as he ran to his fallen brother.

Steve had run out into the ring as well and was crouched at Soda's side. Dally was standing a few steps away, his eyes trained on the horse that the handlers were still trying in vain to wrangle. His hands were balled up as if he would get into a fist fight if the horse tried to get too close.

"Soda? Soda can you hear me?" Darry said frantically as he dropped to Soda's side, keeping an eye on the horse as well.

Soda squinted up at him, a grimace on his face. "Hey Darry," he croaked. "Fancy seein' you here."

Darry gave a sigh of relief that Soda wasn't unconscious. He quickly checked him over and found that he was bleeding from a cut just over his right temple and was also covered in dirt and his shirt was torn. His arm, the one that had gotten caught in the reins, was cocked out at a funny angle as well.

"What's hurt?" Darry asked quickly. He didn't want to move him until he knew exactly what was wrong.

"His shoulder's probably dislocated," Steve spoke up. "He did somethin' to his knee too."

"What're you havin' a damn tea party down there?" Dally demanded glancing down at them. "Get him the hell outta here! No one's gettin' anywhere near that horse."

"I guess I made him mad," Soda said glancing over at the horse and letting out a light laugh, though it was clear that he was in a lot of pain.

"Okay Soda, this is gonna hurt, but I gotta get you outta here," Darry said quickly. He knew that any kind of movement was going to hurt his dislocated shoulder, but there was no way around it. The paramedics wouldn't come into the ring until the horse was contained and Darry wasn't going to just leave Soda here with that crazy horse still running around. "Steve, try and support that arm so it doesn't move much."

As Steve carefully reached out and held onto Soda's bad arm Darry slid one hand under Soda's knees while putting his other hand around his back. With an effort he lifted his brother up off the ground with Steve moving with them. Soda cried out at the movement and the sound caused Darry's stomach to tie into a knot. Together he and Steve moved as quickly as they could toward the nearest gate and Darry was aware of Dally following closely behind. As they reached the gate Dally ran around them to open it as they moved through it.

Thankfully the paramedics were waiting for them just on the other side of the fence. Darry set Soda down on the stretcher as gently as he could, but Soda still groaned loudly.

"Sodapop?"

Darry turned to see their dad hurrying over to them, with Pony, Two-Bit and Johnny all following close behind.

"He's okay," he assured his dad as he approached, taking in the worry etched in his features. "Looks like the worst of it is the dislocated shoulder."

"Hell of a ride though," Dally said as he casually lit up a cigarette.

"What was my time?" Soda asked a bit eagerly even as the paramedics were checking him over.

"The judges ruled you were still technically on the horse at seven seconds," Steve said.

"Awesome," Soda said with a grin. "Best time of the day."

"We're going to have to take him to the hospital for x-rays," one of the paramedics spoke up.

Mr. Curtis nodded. "Darry, you ride with him," he said. "We'll meet you over there." He moved over to the stretcher where Soda lay and placed a hand gently on his uninjured shoulder. "You know your mother is gonna have a fit," he said with a smile.

"What d'ya think the odds are that she won't notice?" Soda asked with a light laugh.

His dad chuckled at him. "Not a chance, Pepsi-Cola," he said. But despite his light tone, as Darry looked at his father he could tell that what had happened had shaken him up as well. Darry somehow suspected that this would be Soda's last ride for a while, and not just because of their mother's worry anymore. As they were loading Soda up into the ambulance Mr. Curtis turned to Dally. "Thanks for goin' after him, Dally," he said seriously.

Dally simply shrugged it off as he took a drag off his cigarette. Dally wasn't looking for any recognition. Had it been anyone other than one of the gang in there he wouldn't have even considered jumping in after them. But Dally was fiercely loyal to the gang, almost protective at times even though if he was in the wrong mood he had no qualms about belting any one of them. And they all knew that it could have been so much worse if Dally hadn't been so quick to react to the situation.

Darry turned and climbed up into the back of the ambulance once they had Soda settled. The doors slammed behind him, the siren blared and the vehicle took off. As the ambulance bumped along Soda winced and groaned.

"It's okay, little buddy," Darry assured him.

"Why don't they just pop it back in?" Soda moaned. Soda was real tough but it was clear that the pain was beginning to get to him.

Darry looked at the paramedics for answers. "We're concerned about ligament damage because of how violent the incident was," one paramedic explained. "We need to take an x-ray before we can pop it back in."

"Sorry, Soda, you're gonna have to stick it out," Darry said sympathetically.

Soda reached out his good hand and Darry carefully took it. It was clear that Soda was in pain all the way to the hospital, and Darry felt relieved as they finally came to a stop outside the emergency room. Soda moaned as they unloaded him from the ambulance and then before Darry could blink they had rushed him away. One of the paramedics directed Darry to the waiting room, tell him that they'd come find him after Soda was done with the x-rays.

As Darry entered the waiting room he was surprised to see his dad and Pony were already there waiting. His dad must have been driving pretty fast to have gotten there so quickly.

"How's he holdin' up?" his dad asked as he took a seat next to him.

"He'll be fine," Darry said. "His shoulder was hurtin' a lot though. They said they couldn't pop it back in until they got an x-ray though." He paused. "Should we call mom and tell her what happened?"

To Darry's surprise his father smiled and chuckled lightly at the suggestion. "We'll bring Sodapop home to her in one piece, _then_ we'll tell her what happened," he said. "Best not to worry your mother until completely necessary."

Darry laughed, realizing his dad was right. He turned to look at Pony and found that he was still looking pale and shaken from the whole ordeal. Him and Soda were especially close and Darry knew that what he had seen had scared him, even though he'd never admit it.

"Hey, Soda's gonna be fine, kiddo," Darry assured him, reaching over and giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Pony gave him a strained smile. "I know," he said unconvincingly.

They waited around for almost an hour before a doctor finally came out looking for them. Mr. Curtis stood and shook the man's hand and Darry stood next to him.

"Sodapop is going to be fine," the doctor reiterated. "We took an x-ray which showed us that he tore a ligament in his shoulder, but it's not a severe tear and won't require any surgery. If he rests it for a few weeks he should be fine. He also had a minor sprain in his right knee which also just needs rest. We gave him some painkillers and popped his shoulder back into socket, so he should be ready to go home shortly."

"Thank you, doctor," Mr. Curtis said.

As Darry glanced down at Ponyboy he saw that the relief was clear on his face. The doctor led them back to the emergency room and they quickly found Soda laying on a bed with his arm in a sling, looking a little sleepy. But Darry was relief to see that he at least seemed to be not in any pain anymore.

"How're you feelin' Pepsi-Cola?" their dad asked as they approached the bed.

"A little loopy," Soda said with a lopsided grin.

Mr. Curtis laughed. "Guess they got you on some good painkillers."

Soda looked up at them blearily. "Think I'll be okay to ride next weekend?" he asked.

Darry almost laughed out loud at this. Soda was not phased at all by the incident; all he wanted to do was ride.

"Probably not," Mr. Curtis told him carefully. "We'll talk about it more at home."

Soon Soda was released from the hospital and they were able to take him home. Darry helped him to the car and then again from the car into the house. As predicted, Mrs. Curtis was thoroughly distressed to find out what had happened. After Darry had helped Soda to bed he returned to the living room and could hear a heated discussion going on in the kitchen.

"They don't want Soda to ride in the rodeo again," Pony said in an undertone as Darry joined him on the couch.

"Can you blame them after what happened today?" Darry asked.

"Soda's fine though," Pony pointed out.

"Yeah, only because he was very lucky," Darry said. "He easily could have broken his neck or got trampled today."

"Yeah, I guess," Pony said. "Soda's not gonna like it though."

"Yeah well mom and dad are more concerned about his safety than whether or not he'll like what they decide," he reasoned, though at the same time he was glad that he didn't have to be the one to tell Soda he couldn't ride in the rodeo anymore. "Maybe in another year or two they'll let him try again."

Pony just nodded. Darry could tell that on some level Pony was glad that Soda wouldn't be riding anymore as well. He couldn't imagine what it was like to lose someone you loved so much, but for just a split second that day as Soda lay motionless in the middle of that ring it was clear that they had all feared the worst. How Soda had come out of that with such minor injuries was beyond him as he remembered how that horse had flung him around the ring before Dally was able to reach him. But somehow he had. He was going to be fine.

Darry knew that their dad would be able to talk him out of going back to the rodeo at least for a while. They were such a close family that all three of the brothers hated disappointing their parents, so without their support Soda would quickly lose interest and move on to something else.

Family was most important. Family came before everything. And Darry was immensely grateful for the family that he had – biological family as well as the surrogate family of the gang - today.


End file.
